Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity available for a proactive and dynamic Pharmacy Technician to join the Pharmacy Homecare and Procurement teams at Whittington Health NHS Trust.
In this role, you will play a key part in the day-to-day operation of the Homecare service, supporting the safe, timely and cost-effective supply of medicines. This includes clinical and non-clinical aspects of the service. You will also support the Procurement team in key areas and champion the use of best value medicines, playing a crucial role in identifying and delivering cost improvement opportunities.
This position is ideal for a Pharmacy Technician with strong organisational, problem-solving and communication skills who is keen to make a meaningful impact on patient care.
You will be part of a collaborative and forward-thinking pharmacy department, working closely with pharmacy colleagues, multidisciplinary teams across the Trust and wider region, and external partners.
We are committed to continuous development and will support you to develop your skills and advance your professional practice whilst you contribute to ongoing service improvements and support the delivery of excellent care by Pharmacy. You will be able to shape the role and demonstrate its continuous benefit and sustainability.
Flexible working requests will be considered in line with service requirements, supporting a range of personal circumstances and priorities.
Main duties of the job
- Support the management of the homecare team for the day-to-day operation of the service.
- Investigate and resolve urgent patient or nursing queries regarding supply, to avoid any missed dose
- Communicate with external homecare providers on a day-to-day basis.
- Participate in London Procurement Partnership Homecare consortium meetings and coordinate quarterly review meetings with supplier representatives and clinical leads.
- Support gathering and reporting of KPI information for benchmarking and identify any variations or concerns for discussion with the relevant supplier.
- Submit and support the investigation and follow up of incidents on Datix (Trust incident report system).
- Support the implementation of biosimilar switches and all actions involved.
- Update pharmacy stock control systems and monitor contract changes from CMU.
- Identify off-contract purchases and claim reimbursement of any overpayment if appropriate
- Review off-contract suppliers and acquisition of medicines not part of Commercial Medicines Unit (CMU) contract.
- Support the ordering and purchasing of pharmaceutical products.
- Support the drug shortage management process including regular update and maintenance of database as required.
- Support the procurement of unlicensed medicines and review usage and costs to identify best value options.
- Support contract management.
- Develop and maintain relevant standard operating procedures for Homecare and Procurement.
About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For a full description of the main responsibilities, please see the attached Job Description and Personal Specification.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For a full description of the main responsibilities, please see the attached Job Description and Personal Specification.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Great Britain or an equivalent EU body
- Level 3 NVQ (QCF) Diploma Pharmacy Service Skills or SVQ Pharmacy Services.
- Level 3 National Certificate in Pharmacy Services, or Diploma Pharmaceutical Science or Level 3 knowledge base programme (Or equivalent qualification)
Desirable
- Accredited for final prescription checking, or willing to undertake training for accreditation
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Good written and oral communication skills. Able to communicate with patients and all grades of healthcare staff (verbally and in writing)
- Prioritisation, excellent time management, the ability to plan and execute long-term projects and maintain multiple projects at once
- Computer literate and able to demonstrate a good depth of ability to use excel, word programmes
- Good interpersonal skills
- Confident & assertive when dealing with other professionals
- Demonstrates ability to organise and prioritise workload including when under pressure.
- Good problem-solving skills
- Excellent numeracy skills and analysis and interpretation of data
- Ability to identify and manage risk.
Desirable
- Experience of providing education and training to pharmacy staff, nursing staff and doctors.
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Experience of providing training to pharmacy staff
- Experience of liaising and interacting with nursing and medical staff and other healthcare professionals
- Experience of dealing with patients and public
Desirable
- Experience of working with Homecare and Procurement
- Experience of being in a Medicines Management role e.g. Assessment of Patients own medicines, drug history taking, medicines reconciliation.
- Knowledge of JAC/CMM computer system
- Previous experience of conducting audit / project work
- Working knowledge/experience of writing SOPs
- Understanding of Quality Improvement principles and methodology
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Reliable
- Self-motivated
- Able to work under pressure whilst maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to motivate self and others
- Able to work on own initiative and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Demonstrates initiative, innovation, and motivation & enthusiasm for the post.
- Commitment to Continuing Professional Development.
- Excellent communication skills
- Confidence working with the wider MDT
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Great Britain or an equivalent EU body
- Level 3 NVQ (QCF) Diploma Pharmacy Service Skills or SVQ Pharmacy Services.
- Level 3 National Certificate in Pharmacy Services, or Diploma Pharmaceutical Science or Level 3 knowledge base programme (Or equivalent qualification)
Desirable
- Accredited for final prescription checking, or willing to undertake training for accreditation
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Good written and oral communication skills. Able to communicate with patients and all grades of healthcare staff (verbally and in writing)
- Prioritisation, excellent time management, the ability to plan and execute long-term projects and maintain multiple projects at once
- Computer literate and able to demonstrate a good depth of ability to use excel, word programmes
- Good interpersonal skills
- Confident & assertive when dealing with other professionals
- Demonstrates ability to organise and prioritise workload including when under pressure.
- Good problem-solving skills
- Excellent numeracy skills and analysis and interpretation of data
- Ability to identify and manage risk.
Desirable
- Experience of providing education and training to pharmacy staff, nursing staff and doctors.
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Experience of providing training to pharmacy staff
- Experience of liaising and interacting with nursing and medical staff and other healthcare professionals
- Experience of dealing with patients and public
Desirable
- Experience of working with Homecare and Procurement
- Experience of being in a Medicines Management role e.g. Assessment of Patients own medicines, drug history taking, medicines reconciliation.
- Knowledge of JAC/CMM computer system
- Previous experience of conducting audit / project work
- Working knowledge/experience of writing SOPs
- Understanding of Quality Improvement principles and methodology
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Reliable
- Self-motivated
- Able to work under pressure whilst maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to motivate self and others
- Able to work on own initiative and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Demonstrates initiative, innovation, and motivation & enthusiasm for the post.
- Commitment to Continuing Professional Development.
- Excellent communication skills
- Confidence working with the wider MDT
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
